Park MGM Coming Together Right Before Our Eyes

Last week I stopped by Monte Carlo before heading to dinner at Sake Rok (again). The casino floor was about 50% operational but that should be changing soon when some of the restaurants open (more on that shortly). Additionally, the main lobby was closed for renovations. There’s a temporary check-in area in a nook on the casino floor.

Exterior Design

The porte-cochère was closed but my Uber driver wasn’t paying attention and dropped me off there anyway. The new valet entrance above gives us a much better idea of the overall design scheme that we first saw in the renderings in July. The metallic look is more muted and appears to be similar to a gray paint or brushed steel. The design looks a lot nicer than the renderings portray.

Hotel Rooms

The hotel renovations have begun. Thanks to Ace for sharing this room tour video. It also offers a quick preview of the new hallway decor.

MGM Resorts International has been positioning Park MGM as a luxury casino-resort. The red color scheme is reminiscent of the hotel room at The D. I’m not sure I’m looking forward to the other design with a room covered in green.

None of these hotels or hotel rooms would be considered luxury. Midweek prices for the hotel rooms are often the same as the hotel resort fee.

Restaurants Coming And Going

The finishing touches are being put on the first Park MGM restaurant. The fine folks at Vegas Bright were able to grab a few pictures of Primrose. Judging by the initial renderings, there will be multiple decorative styles at the restaurant. This restaurant will be just off the lobby in the area where The Pub used to be located.

Primrose should be open before September ends according to Eater Vegas. Bavette’s Steakhouse should be open by October. That will clear up some of the congestion on the western part of the casino floor.

Construction might be moving towards the Vegas Strip next. Eater Vegas is also reporting that d.vino, Dragon Noodle, and BLVD Creamery have all closed. Expect to hear more news about the restaurant shuffle every few weeks for the next year.

First Impression

Park MGM won’t be a budget casino-resort but it might not be the luxury property we’ve been expecting. My first very early impression is that Park MGM will be a nice upgrade from Monte Carlo but it won’t be The Venetian, Wynn, or Cosmopolitan. The “luxury” part of Park MGM might be reserved specifically for the NoMad part of the hotel. Let’s manage our expectations of Park MGM while the project develops.

Sports Quick Hits

I’m a sports fan and bettor so I always have my eyes open to sports news. There happened to be a lot of sports related news in the past week. Ironically, this is the first Sunday of the NFL season and none of the most interesting Las Vegas sports news is about football. I’ll keep my thoughts somewhat brief so I can touch on multiple topics.

Fight Fails To Break Records. Good.

Ticket sales for the Floyd Mayweather fight with Conor McGregor were lower than expected. The Nevada State Athletic Commission confirmed rumors that the total gate for the big fight was “only” $55,414,865.79. That’s quite a bit lower than the record of $72,198,500 when Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao.

Fans spoke out about the high ticket prices by not spending money to attend the fight. Word on the street is that the watch parties on the Vegas Strip were also not attended very well. This could be a tipping point for the price increases we’ve seen on the Vegas Strip. We’ll keep an eye out on future huge event pricing to see if anyone tries to set record highs. Read more about the fight gate here.

More Sports

Caesars Entertainmentfinally released a sports wagering app. They’re the last large casino company to hop on board the mobile wagering train. You can read more about the app here.

Jay Kornegay from the Westgate was a guest on the “Behind The Bets” podcast last week. He revealed that the casino hopes to add NFL SuperContest picks to their mobile app next season. Non-residents will have to continue using a proxy service since Nevada casino apps can only be used in the state. Locals will enjoy this convenience if it’s ready in time.

Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the Golden Nugget, purchased the Houston Rockets last week. The deal is expected to be approved later this year. Once the deal is approved you will no longer to be allowed to wager on the Rockets at the Golden Nugget. Read more here. On a related note, you still can’t wager on the Boston Celtics at Caesars Entertainment properties since Gary Loveman is still on the board of directors. He still owns a stake in the team.

The NHL didn’t ask to ban the Vegas Golden Knights games to be banned from Nevada sports books. You’ll be able to wager on them losing to your favorite team when you visit Las Vegas. Read more here.

Rampart Casino in Summerlin opened a new sports book this week. It’s a nice option if you’re looking for somewhere new to watch the games. Check it out.

N9NE and Ghostbar Close At Palms

Station Casinos purchased the Palms just over a year ago. The deal was approved later in the year. This has been a year for the company to overhaul the casino floor so it identifies more as a Station Casinos property.

Roof Collapse At Lotus of Siam

I was about to close my iPad for the night on Friday when I saw the news from Lotus of Siam that their roof collapsed. The restaurant is closed indefinitely while they figure out how to fix the problem.Electric Daisy Carnival Moves To May

Last but not least, the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) announced the festival will take place from May 18-20, 2018 instead of the summer. I’m going to guess that most TravelZork readers aren’t EDC’s target market but there’s a reason to be aware of these dates.

The large 100,000+ attendance has previously packed hotel rooms all over Las Vegas. The high demand would sometimes drive room prices up for rooms during the festival. EDC will offer a camping program for visitors next year for the first time. Attendees might choose to skip staying in casino-hotels and stay close to the festival. This could alleviate hotel room prices for the weekend. If you’re a super early planner, keep your eyes on hotel room prices for these dates.

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Marc

Marc grew up on the mean streets of the South Bronx. He's the rare combination of Yankees and Jets fan which explains his often contrarian point of view. He learned about gambling at a young age working down the street from a bookie who took action on anything from the mainstream sports to the last three digits of the purse for certain horse races. Yeah, that's a thing. Today Marc is a freelance writer and social media consultant which allows him to work anywhere there's a wifi signal. This allows him to work from the sportsbook at Red Rock Resort or the food court at The Venetian where you’ll find fast and free wifi. Writing about steak, booze, gambling and Las Vegas is a tough job but somebody has to do it.